


Bible Camp

by mintsaway



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Agender Character, Binarism, Cissexism, M/M, Religion, Slurs, Smoking, Summer Camp AU, Underage Smoking, aoba really hates church, bible camp au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-20 11:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1508891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mintsaway/pseuds/mintsaway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Midorijima Bible Camp was one of the most disgusting places Aoba had ever had the displeasure of staying. The staff were closed minded, the living quarters were far from safe, let alone comfortable, and the owners cared more about the temple than the teens they were supposed to be educating. But it's not like he expected anything different from a place nicknamed "Platinum Jail." </p>
<p>Though, come what may in that wretched camp, this was sure to be the most memorable summer of his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Aoba had never liked church. It was long; it was boring, and nothing ever made sense. Not to mention it was full of closed-minded assholes who were desperate to ‘save the world from the clutches of Hell’ or whatever it was they said at the end of every single service. He didn’t really pay attention. 

The only reason he didn’t complain more about being forced to go to church (“Who the hell forces religion on teenagers?” He grumbled to his twin, Sei every Sunday morning while they got ready) was because it was only an hour a week, which he could deal with. However two months of traditional Christian bible study, he could not. 

“Bible camp?” He asked incredulously, standing and nearly slamming his hands onto the table in front of him.

“Sit down Aoba.” His father said gently, ignoring Aoba’s continued protests. Sei sat quietly next to their brother, wishing Aoba would sit down. They never did like conflict much.

“Why? Why are you sending us away?” He still didn’t sit down, though he had lowered his voice considerably. 

“Your mother and I feel it would do you and brother—” Sei flinched slightly as the word “brother” left their father’s lips, though they stayed quiet. Aoba, on the other hand, did not. 

“Sei’s not my brother.” He cut his father off, face hardening at his father’s frown. There was a lot he was willing to put up with; the misgendering of his twin was not one of those things. 

“—Good to go to this camp. It’s only two months; it’ll be fun.” His father finished, as though he’d never been interrupted. 

“ _Only_ two months?” Aoba didn’t usually fight this hard against his parents on anything; but he knew what this was about. And he was not willing to sit and listen quietly to them cut him and Sei down, turn them into things they weren’t. 

Sei had come out as agender to their parents not even a month ago, and they had not been happy. They insisted Sei was confused, that they didn’t know what they were talking about. Aoba had gotten angry when he heard that; he was very protective when it came to Sei. He wasn’t sure how his parents found out he was gay (or that Sei was pansexual, which they apparently knew as well), but that had only worsened the situation. Now they were being forced to waste their summer at Midorijima Bible Camp, or as it was known among the attendees, Platinum Jail. 

When the day came that they were to leave, they waited at the bus stop for the camp’s bus to arrive, Aoba still muttering complaints under his breath. “If anyone messes with you tell me, alright?” It wasn’t so much a question as a command, still Sei smiled and nodded. 

“Try not to get in too much trouble.” Aoba rolled his shoulders absentmindedly, and cracked his neck. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The bus pulled up a few minutes later, and they followed the rest of the gathered teens on board.

* * *

The camp looked like any normal summer camp really, except that there were crosses plastered on anything and everything in sight. There was also a large cross erected right in the middle of each common area. The cabins were grouped in “villages” of about five or so. There were two villages for girls, and two for boys. The cabins were arranged in U shapes with a single bathhouse at the back. Each village was surrounded on all sides by dense forest, except at the mouth of the U. At the mouth there was a gravel path that led in either direction for what seemed like miles until you reached the next village.

The cabins were made entirely of wood, and had no fans. Which meant whatever temperature it was outside, that was the temperature of the cabin. The walls were thin with a few noticeable gaps in the boards, and it looked as though the support beams could give out at any moment. The front walls opened to reveal screen walls that appeared to have been eaten by bugs. (“How is a screen that gets eaten by what it’s supposed to keep out going to be effective?” Aoba muttered to Sei, and his twin simply shrugged their shoulders.) The bunk beds were made of metal, and swayed like hell at the slightest of touches. Even brushing your fingers lightly against one could cause it to wobble. They were also loud. There were four sets of bunk beds, two on each wall. The cabins didn’t have any lights, so if anyone wanted to see anything after it got dark, they’d have to use flashlights. 

The bathhouses smelled of rotten eggs and mold, and the walls were covered in daddy longlegs as big as the average person’s hand, and fireflies, even in the showers. The lights were dim and flickered quite a bit, and the sinks only ran cold water. Surely the showers would be the same. The showers had no doors or curtains, though there were rods that indicated there once had been. (Sei and Aoba both agreed that the bathhouses were disgusting; Aoba even went as far as to say he’d rather shower with a water bottle out in the woods behind the cabins.)

In the center of the common area all the cabins looked out on, next to the cross, was a small pavilion with a few picnic tables scattered under it. The ground under the pavilion was paved with cement, but everywhere outside that was covered in patchy grass. There were a few trees about the common area, one of them had: ‘The Gum Tree’ written on it in spray paint. That tree was, unsurprisingly, covered in chewed gum, a few pieces even held teeth. 

The camp was arranged in a sort of compass shape, with the main fields, temple, program center, and mess hall at the center, and a village in each cardinal direction. Between the villages, in the middle of surely the most ridiculously thick forests on the planet, there were archery ranges, and climbing towers, and horse stables, and a lake and anything else there might be at a typical summer camp. 

The mess hall was a nicer building than anything in the villages. It had an air conditioning and heating system, fully functioning water and lights, and sturdy wood tables. The floors were linoleum, and the walls were plastered. The ceiling and support beams were both completely in tact, and the building smelled like food, as most do, with a slight hint of flowers and trees. 

The program center looked to be nicer than the mess hall, though the campers weren’t aloud inside unless they were sick or hurt. (The infirmary was inside.)

As nice as the program center was, the temple had to be the nicest building in the whole camp. The floors inside were carpeted, and a large chandelier hung from the ceiling. It had auditorium style seating, and all the chairs were padded. There was a large stage at the front with a band area (even an enclosed space for a drum set) on the far right side, a space for the choir on the left, and an elaborate altar at the center towards the back of the ridiculously large stage. The lighting was bright and the temperature was controlled. The doors had carefully carved designs and brass knobs. Aoba might mind the weekly services a bit less if they were in a building this nice.

Down by the sports fields there was a bonfire pit, with auditorium style wooden benches and a stage. The pit looked like it could hold a rather large fire, and the benches could probably hold up to around two hundred people. The stage was situated right in front of the woods. The whole area faced the forest. 

Aoba and Sei wound up in the same cabin at least. When they reached their cabin there were already a few people there. A blond kid with several piercings in his face (Jesus didn’t it hurt to have that many?) was sitting on the top bunk of the bed set in the back left corner. His clothes were all black, white, and light neon green with some navy blue thrown in. He was wearing a knitted navy and white hat with ear flaps and green yarn strings that had a large bleeding smiley face pin on the side. Aoba wondered silently how the fuck he could wear that in the heat. His fingers tapped lightly on the railing, eyes on the ceiling.

The bunk below the blond held a shorter boy with white hair and pink eyes. He had on a white t-shirt, dark cargo shorts, and white converse. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, absentmindedly flipping through an ancient journal that looked like it had been left out in a thunderstorm, and a few of the pages appeared to be singed a bit. 

The white haired boy looked up when Aoba and Sei entered. “Hello!” He greeted happily, waving a bit. Sei smiled brightly and waved back, setting their things on the bottom bunk of the front set on the left wall. They went over to introduce themself, while Aoba dumped his things on the top bunk of the back set on the right wall. The blond in the other bed didn’t look at him, still focused on the ceiling. Aoba didn’t feel the need to start any sort of conversation with him, so he didn’t, instead pulling a book from his bag (not a bible thank you) and flipping to where he’d left off. Sei spoke with the white haired boy, who they learned was named Clear, for a good fifteen minutes before returning to their bed to set up their things.

Soon after Aoba and Sei, came another two people, one with black, almost navy hair with bangs that covered half his face, the rest was pulled back in a ponytail that rested on his shoulder, and a long, horizontal scar on his nose. The other had tanned skin and was desperately in need of a haircut. His wine colored bangs hung down over his face, almost completely covering his green eyes. He had a white teardrop shaped tattoo on his left cheek just below his eye, and more intricate white tattoos on his neck. Goddamn that must have been painful. The one with the scar was wearing a loose red t-shirt and loose denim shorts, paired with flip-flops. The one with the awful bangs wore a red and black shirt, and black shorts, with dark tennis shoes.

The redhead took the bunk above Sei, and the ravenet took the bunk below Aoba. About ten minutes later came another two. (Did everyone come in groups of two?) This time it was two blondes, who looked almost completely identical save the fact that one of them had glasses. The one with glasses wore navy cargo shorts and a denim blue t-shirt that turned light green towards the left shoulder. The fabric was a bit torn on that shoulder. The other also had a denim blue t-shirt (it looked slightly purple in the lighting), though his turned a bubblegum pink color towards the right shoulder. His shirt was also torn a bit on the colored shoulder. They took the only available bunks left, the front set on the right wall. The one with glasses took the top, leaving the other to the bottom. 

No one spoke for a while, setting their things up quietly, busying themselves. Occasionally someone would mutter something to themself, and everyone else would pretend not to hear them. Aoba was grateful no one mentioned Sei’s skirt. He’d tried to talk his sibling out of it that morning (it just wasn’t a practical thing to wear), but they’d insisted that since it was the first day, it would be fine. After nearly ten minutes, Aoba had given up. 

After everyone had finished setting their things up, the kid with the tattoos jumped down to the ground, and leaned against the bunks. He moved away immediately, having nearly caused them to tip over, quickly steadying the beds and apologizing to Sei. “So then, what’s everybody’s name?” He asked, a smile decorating his face. He sighed when no one responded. “You there, blue hair, why don’t you start?” He pointed up at Aoba, startling him a bit, though he didn’t show it.

“Aoba.” He said simply. “What’s yours?” The redhead smiled again. 

“Mizuki, nice to meet you.” He turned to look at Clear. “What about you?” 

“Clear.” The white haired boy answered, setting the journal down behind him. Sei spoke next. 

“I’m Sei.” They piped up from behind Mizuki, shifting nervously before adding, “They/them pronouns if you could.” Everyone except Aoba was slightly confused by this, so they explained. “You know, like you’d call someone he or she or girl or boy? Well could you call me they instead of he and person instead of boy?” Everyone seemed to understand well enough then, and nodded, causing Sei to smile slightly and duck their head a bit. 

“I’m Koujaku.” The ravenet said after Sei finished. Next were the identical blonds. 

“My name is Virus.” The one with the glasses said. 

“And I’m Trip.” Trip had a deeper voice than Virus, Aoba noticed. The blond in the corner looked down at everyone now, having directed his eyes back to the ceiling after Sei had explained their pronouns. 

“Noiz.” He said simply, sounding uninterested. 

Before anyone had the chance to say anything else, someone outside whistled and shouted, “E’rybody go down to the fire pit! They got announcements to give!” So announcements would be given at the fire pit. Well, they wouldn’t give announcements in the mess hall unless it was during a meal, and they’d hardly give them in the temple, not with how nice that building was. 

It took nearly fifteen minutes to walk to the fire pit; it might have taken less time if Sei walked faster, but they were a bit slower than most when it came to anything physical. They liked to take in their surroundings. After about ten minutes they made it out of the forest area into the center section of the camp, which was entirely too large in Aoba’s opinion. “Alright princess, let’s get a move on here. There’s nothing to look at out here.” He smiled as he spoke, grabbing Sei’s wrist gently, pulling them along at a faster pace than they’d been walking. 

“Hey!” Sei yelped, loosing their footing slightly when Aoba started dragging them. 

“You alright?” The younger asked, turning back to look at Sei. Sei let out a small breath through their nose and stood up straight, matching their pace with Aoba’s.

“Yeah, fine.” They answered with a smile. “Come on, we won’t find seats if we take too long.” This time it was Sei who dragged Aoba, to the protest of the taller. Sei only laughed and gave their brother’s wrist one last tug when they reached the bonfire. Most everyone else was there already, but there were a few open seats on the end of the bench nearest to them. They sat down just as the pastor began speaking; Aoba ended up sitting next to the ravenet in his cabin, Koujaku. 

The pastor was huge, incredibly muscular, tall (probably around 6 feet), with long, dark brown dreads that got gradually lighter towards the bottom. His hair also had…feathers in it. Okay. His voice was deep and serious, but it was something you could listen to for a while without tuning out, which was something Aoba’s pastor back home didn’t have. He was explaining the rules, just basic things, don’t fuck with the equipment, listen to the counselors and staff, etc., then there were the church rules, go to all the services, say your prayers, don’t do this or that or the other thing, basic rules of religion, and, much to Aoba’s displeasure, no gays. That was presented as an important rule, thought the pastor, who’d introduced himself as Mink, didn’t seem too interested in it. Breaking the rules would not be tolerated, blah, blah, blah, boring rule explanations. Aoba paid attention, for lack of anything better to focus on, though he didn’t take most of the religious rules very seriously. He doubted anyone did. The last rule presented was: Don’t go outside your cabins after dark. Mink continued on to tell everyone to stay out of the woods especially; apparently there were dangerous animals in there. 

Wouldn’t this camp be fun?

After Mink finished going over the rules (which took way longer than rules should have taken), he moved on to the basic schedule for the days. They woke up at 7:00 a.m. (The entire camp groaned at that, and Sei looked like they were going to be sick), breakfast at 7:45. Then they had a service 8:30. (“I am not going to church everyday.” Aoba muttered, earing a swat from Sei.) After service they split off into their cabin groups to do sports or archery or climbing or whatever the hell they were assigned for the first two-hour period of the day. How the camp had enough space for 20 different groups to do things Aoba had no idea, but he didn’t really care much. Then at around 11:30 they moved on to do something else for an hour. Twelve-thirty was lunch, and then from 1:15-2:00 they had free time. At 2:00 everyone went down to the lake for two hours. Four to five was “shower hour.” (Everyone had to take a shower after being at the lake.) After that they had evening activities for an hour. At six they had another service. (“Aw come on, that’s overkill!” Aoba grumbled, this time Sei nodded along with him, a small frown littering their face.) Then dinner. At 7:45 everyone went back to their villages until it got dark. 

If they wanted (though it sounded less like a choice and more like a command) they could write a letter home to their families, and it would be sent on the next Sunday. The schedule for Sunday was a bit different. They slept until 8:00, though they had breakfast at 8:30. (“I can’t get ready for an entire day in half an hour!” Sei commented quietly, Aoba chuckled, though he agreed it wasn’t long enough.) They had a service from 9:15 until noon, then lunch. Then they had free time all afternoon, until it was time for the six o’clock service. Afterward they had dinner and went back to their villages for the night. 

Once Mink finally got through the schedule, (there were a lot of complaints from the teens) they were released. By then it had reached time for the evening service, and Aoba swore quietly under his breath, dodging another swat from Sei.  
“You’re about to go to a church service! Don’t swear.” They scolded. 

“Fine, fine, since when do you care about religion anyway?” Sei rolled their eyes slightly and turned to Koujaku, who was walking with them after the announcements. 

“Don’t you think he should speak cleanly right before church?” They asked, arching an eyebrow slightly. Koujaku smiled a bit and held his hands up in defense. 

“Don’t drag me into this.” Sei huffed slightly. 

“Don’t swear right before church.” They repeated to Aoba, poking his side. 

“Hey!” Aoba exclaimed, arms wrapping around his middle, a strangled laugh escaping his throat. Sei smiled, looking satisfied, and lifted their arms above their head in a graceful stretch. 

“You two seem pretty close, how do you know each other?” Koujaku asked when Sei’s arms returned to their sides. 

“We’re twins.” Aoba and Sei said at the same time, a bit surprised by their synchronization. Koujaku smiled at the display, nodding his head once. 

“Somehow not surprising.” He said, more to himself than either of the twins. Sei and Aoba both laughed a bit, then Aoba asked a question of his own. 

“So do you know Mizuki, or did you just happen to find the cabin at the same time?” 

“We met on the bus here.” Koujaku explained, leaning his head from side to side, cracking his neck quietly. Sei rolled their eyes; why did people always insist on punctuating their words by cracking their bones? 

It didn’t take long to walk to the temple, and the three found seats at the back along the wall. Sei appreciated the air conditioning, Aoba the cushioned seats, Koujaku a combination of both. The service lasted an hour; Aoba didn’t pay attention to a word of it. There was a lot more singing than Aoba remembered there being in a normal service though. “This carpet is going to get ruined so fast.” Aoba observed as they left. Sei nodded, groaning as they left the sweet, air-conditioned building back into the hot evening. 

“It should not be legal for anything to be this hot.” They muttered, fanning themself lightly. Aoba nodded his agreement, and Koujaku helped Sei fan themself. Aoba joined in soon as well, and Sei really did look like a princess walking into the mess hall with two attractive boys fanning them as they walked.

They ended up sitting in a table in the back corner with Virus and Trip. Somehow, Mizuki, Clear, and Noiz ended up at the table as well. The table only sat eight, so they filled it up. After everyone in the mess hall had found a seat, it was announced that this was where they’d sit for every meal until the end of the summer. “Looks like we’re all stuck together then?” Aoba commented, leaning an elbow on the table. Sei shoved his arm off. 

“Manners.” They reminded him. Aoba rolled his eyes.

“Yes mother.” He replied, bored tone contrasting greatly with the grin on his face. 

After about ten minutes, Mizuki looked over at Aoba and Sei, taking a drink and clearing his throat a bit. “So do you two know each other, or are you just weirdly close strangers?” He asked conversationally.

“We’re twins.” They replied together for the second time that day. The redhead nodded, then shifted his gaze over to Virus and Trip.

“You twins too?” 

“We’re not twins.” The synchronization was more impressive than Aoba and Sei almost. “We’re not brothers either.” Virus added. Trip nodded as if to confirm the statement. Mizuki shrugged and took another drink. The conversation picked up gradually after that. By the time dinner was over, they were all talking animatedly with one another. Noiz and Koujaku got into a few arguments but Aoba was able to resolve them fairly quickly. Other than that everyone seemed to get along well.

“No Sei, I don’t think you can eat eyeliner in an emergency.” Mizuki said with a laugh. 

“Well what do you know about eyeliner anyway?” They shot back with a smile. 

“Fair enough. It’s probably toxic though.”

“Wait, you think I’d let my twin put something toxic on their eyelids? What kind of brother do you take me for? Of course it’s not toxic!” Aoba cut in, a small grin on his face. 

“I think it’s toxic.” Koujaku added, dodging Aoba’s hand. 

“It’s not toxic! Right Noiz?” He looked over at the younger blond, thinking he probably knew. He was wearing enough eyeliner to know at least.

“It won’t kill you, probably.” Noiz supplied. He showed no indication of interest in the conversation, but he was keeping up well enough, participating when he had something to say, which wasn’t too often. Still, Aoba wanted to think he was enjoying himself. Because really, if he couldn’t enjoy himself in the company of the seven of them, Aoba didn’t know where he would draw any joy in the next two months. 

After dinner was over, everyone returned to their villages as instructed. It wasn’t dark yet, but it would be soon. Mizuki grabbed a deck of cards from one of his bags, and they sat at one of the picnic tables under the pavilion and played cards for nearly an hour before the sky began to darken and everyone decided it was time to get ready for bed. Sei grabbed their pajamas and rushed off to the bathhouse in ten seconds flat, leaving everyone else in the cabin. Virus and Trip disappeared as soon as the sun began to set, so it was just Aoba, Koujaku, Mizuki, Clear, and Noiz. “So someone has to go in early to set up breakfast.” Koujaku said, running a brush through his long hair. 

“What about Sei?” Mizuki suggested, and Aoba paled a bit. 

“Please, for the love of god, choose anyone but Sei.” He said quickly. 

“Why?”

“Trust me, you do not want to wake Sei up that early. You don’t want to be the one to wake Sei up, period. They may seem sweet but wake them from their sleep and it’s like you’ve woken a hibernating bear.” Mizuki and Koujaku both widened their eyes, nodding slowly. 

“I’ll do it!” Clear volunteered, somehow having already changed. Everyone else shrugged and agreed; if he wanted to wake up early to help, no one was going to stop him. They certainly weren’t going to try to take his place. 

Virus and Trip didn’t return until everyone was nearly asleep, and at that point, no one had the energy to question where they’d gone. _Well,_ Aoba though as he drifted off, _it could be worse._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Whatever happens, it had better be good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lot's of warnings for this chapter. Major transphoiba warning, sorry. (It was as painful to write as it is to read.)
> 
> Brief emetophobia warning for the lake scenes.
> 
> Lot's of discussion of faith/beliefs and death 
> 
> Also, graphic descriptions of drowning (I would like this to be an unexpected thing, but your safety is far more important)
> 
> Stay safe everyone

They were awoken the next morning by a loud trumpet blaring out some military tune. Brilliant. Aoba growled as he sat up, running a hand through his long, tangled hair. It would have been harder to convince himself to leave the bed if it hadn’t been the most uncomfortable place he’d ever fallen asleep. He climbed down slowly, careful not to let the bunks sway too much. Everyone else was busy getting dressed, except Sei, who’d miraculously slept through the wakeup call.

Everyone dressed quickly, and after ten minutes, all stared at Sei, still asleep in their bunk, silently trying to decide what to do. Aoba held his hands up and stepped forward, signaling for everyone to stand back while he woke Sei up. He approached nervously, and crouched next his sleeping twin. “Sei, it’s time to wake up.” He said softly, reaching out hesitantly, not quite able to bring himself to touch the older. Sei shifted slightly, but didn’t respond. “C’mon, you’ll miss breakfast if you don’t get up.” His voice was a bit louder now, if not a bit shaky. He spent another few minutes trying to get Sei to wake up, and finally gathered up enough courage to shake their shoulder a bit. 

As soon as his hand met Sei’s shoulder, it was caught in a tight grip, and dark eyes glared out at him from beneath the thin blanket. “Hey, good morning princess. It’s time to get up now. We have breakfast in thirty minutes; you don’t want to be late, do you?” Aoba’s voice was gentle, though his face was strained as he tried to ignore the harsh grip on his wrist. Sei growled low in their throat, glare growing in intensity as they sank further into the bedding.

The others watched with fear evident on their faces (well, Koujaku and Mizuki looked scared, Noiz, Virus, and Trip were expressionless, and Clear's expression was hard to read) as Aoba tried to coax his older sibling out of bed. It took nearly fifteen minutes to get Sei to stand up, and they looked even more terrifying out of bed. 

Their hair was a mess and their usually soft features were hardened into a scowl. They growled at the sun coming in through the gaps in the walls, and stalked off to the bathroom with a change of clothes and their hairbrush. When they returned they sat on their bed and did their makeup quickly. Everyone else in the cabin tried not to stare as their skilled fingers drew on liquid brush tip eyeliner in one stroke, earning flawless results. They may not have known much about makeup, but that had to be impressive. 

After Sei finished getting ready, they smiled and said good morning to everyone, leaving the cabin to go to breakfast. Breakfast went rather well, and then came church. Aoba didn’t listen to the service, instead counting the people in the rows in front of him. Counting has a way of making people tired, especially this early in the morning, and he found himself beginning to nod off with his head leaning on Koujaku’s shoulder. The ravenet ignored him, listening interestedly to the sermon, and Sei didn’t seem to notice him while they drew daisies on a prayer request card. 

Aoba tried to lift his head from the taller boy’s shoulder, not wanting to bother him when he fell asleep, but his drowsiness got the better of him, and he ended up dozing off with his head resting heavily on Koujaku’s shoulder. Koujaku smiled to himself when he noticed Aoba had fallen asleep, though he tried not the pay the blue haired boy much mind. Unlike Aoba, he didn’t completely despise religion, and he found Mink’s sermons to be quite…interesting, to say the least.

Once the service was over, Koujaku gently shook Aoba awake. “Hm?” Aoba hummed quietly, swaying a bit before stumbling forward into Koujaku. Koujaku grabbed his shoulders and steadied him, a small smile plastered on his face. 

“Whoa there, careful; I thought you were supposed to be alert.” Aoba waved a hand and stood up straight again, narrowing his eyes slightly and reaching up to half-heartedly swat at the top of the taller boy’s head. Koujaku moved back and dragged both Aoba and Sei out of the temple. 

That morning’s activity was archery. The archery range was about a forty-minute walk back in the woods between the boys’ villages. The path was fairly narrow, wide enough for only three people to walk side by side at a rather uncomfortable proximity, and the trees formed thick, arching canopies above them. They’d been instructed to find their cabin groups after the service, and once all eight of them had gotten together, they’d been pointed towards a path in the woods and told to walk until they found the archery range. _We’re fucking lost._ Aoba thought after nearly twenty minutes of walking. 

He was walking with Sei and Koujaku, as he seemed to do everywhere now. Ahead of them, Virus, Trip, and Mizuki appeared to be locked in a seemingly very interesting conversation. Occasionally Mizuki would cross his arms over his chest, and shrug his shoulders roughly. A good deal behind them, Noiz was wandering down the path with his eyes focused on the canopy above them. Clear walked beside the blond, speaking animatedly and pointing up at things in the trees. Every few minutes Noiz would say something back, but he was quiet for the most part. 

The grass of the path was smooth and worn, like it had been walked hundreds of times before, which it probably had. The uncomfortable thing about the forest that surrounded the camp was that it was thick enough to get easily lost in, but not so thick that it would be difficult to walk through. It also seemed to be locked in perpetual shadow and gloom, just like the path. There wasn’t much sunlight able to leak through the trees, only enough that they could see where they were going. It was almost as though it were night.

Sei walked a bit closer to Aoba than they would normally. The paths from the center of camp to the villages didn’t have a dark canopy over them, so they were brightly lit. Sei really didn’t care for the dark much. Noticing Sei’s apprehension, Aoba moved himself so they could walk between Koujaku and himself. They didn’t talk much, simply walked in comfortable silence. Every so often an animal would make some sort of noise in the trees, snapping twigs beneath their feet, jumping from trees to the ground, etc., and Sei would jump slightly. Dark places and unexpected noises equaled an uncomfortable walk for the dark haired teen. At the third noise they ended up grabbing Koujaku’s arm, and the boy wrapped his arm around their narrow shoulders in a comforting gesture. Aoba grasped their hand securely, and sent them a small smile. 

When they finally reached the archery range, Aoba and Koujaku released Sei, and stood with the others to listen to the safety lecture from the counselor stationed at the range. It didn’t take them long to get through everything, and soon they were all lining up to start shooting. There were only four targets, so they had to share. The counselor paired them off, and the resulting couples were Koujaku and Aoba, Mizuki and Sei, Virus and Trip, and Noiz and Clear.

Aoba wasn’t a great shot, but he wasn’t bad either. He landed most of his shots on the target, and a good half of them were close to the center. Koujaku was significantly better than he was, but he didn’t care. 

Sei was a rather bad shot when it came down to it. They only landed about half of their shots on the target, and most of them were towards the edge. Mizuki was pretty good, not as good as Koujaku, but better than Aoba. During Sei’s second round of shooting, he got up from the bench and walked over to the shorter teen. “Here, let me help you.” He said gently, standing behind the younger, reaching around them to reposition their hands. “You’re not angling it high enough.” He informed them, adjusting their grip once again and tilting the bow slightly upward. “Pull back to your cheek.” Sei did as they were instructed, careful not to hit Mizuki with their elbow. “Alright, now release.” Sei let their fingers slip from the string, and watched as the arrow split through the air, settling itself just above the center of the target. They smiled widely, and turned around quickly, clasping their hands together in front of their chest. “Good!” Mizuki praised. “Do you want to try on your own again, or do you want me to help you some more?” 

“Could you show me one more time? So I can get the feel of it.” Mizuki grinned. 

“Sure thing princess.” Sei smiled gently at the use of the nickname. No one but Aoba had ever called them princess, and they liked it. 

A little ways down, Virus sat watching Trip shoot arrows one after another at the target with varying accuracy. It didn’t look like either was particularly concerned with the task. Virus didn’t so much as touch a bow the whole time, leaving everything to Trip. Something told Aoba Trip was a very good shot; he just wasn’t really trying this time. It wasn’t long before Trip grew bored of the arrows, going back to join Virus on the bench.

At the very end, Noiz and Clear were alternating uses of the bow. One would shoot a round, then the other. Clear was slightly better than Mizuki, though not much. He didn’t seem to care where the arrow landed; he was enjoying himself regardless. He still spoke animatedly with Noiz, who offered little in response. 

Noiz was a much better shot than Clear. His skill was rivaled only by Koujaku, which he didn’t look particularly pleased about. Koujaku didn’t look very happy with the situation either. There was a moment of almost hostile eye contact, before they both shot an arrow at their respective targets. Their movements were fluid and they were surprisingly in sync. Koujaku’s arrow landed just outside the bullseye, while Noiz’s landed on the inner edge of the 8-point ring. 

Koujaku smirked, and they drew again. It looked as though they’d turned it into a competition. This was understood by both of them, despite the fact that they hadn’t spoken a word. Arrow after arrow tore through the air, none landing beyond the 8-point ring. In the end they lost track of who was winning, too focused on making a better shot than the other. The counselor, who’d been rather absent before then, eventually told them they’d better start back towards center camp, or they’d be late. She also told them about a short cut path that would cut their travel time in half. 

They found the path easily, and the counselor was right. They reached center camp in just over twenty minutes. Almost immediately after they arrived at center camp an overly energetic counselor bounded up to them, and directed them towards the soccer field. There was another group waiting for them on the field. 

The other group was intimidating, and _big._ The biggest guy had to be almost as tall as Mink, if not taller. The rest were only a few inches shorter than he was. They all had neat, uniform buzz cuts and sick smiles on their faces. 

_They can’t be for real._ Aoba thought, slightly worried. _There’s no way eight guys so big and so similar could have ended up together. The cabin selection was pretty randomized; this can’t be real. This has to be a joke, right?_

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a joke. The energetic counselor explained the rules (not that any of them needed him to), and them set up their positions. Aoba wasn’t too familiar with the field positions in soccer, but he figured he’d get the hang of it soon enough. The only instruction he understood was that Sei was their goalie. 

The other team lived up to their looks. Aoba would be surprised if none of them were on an actual soccer team. His own group wasn’t _bad_ , and they could hold their own against the other team at least. Virus and Trip were set to defense, and they were quite good at it too. There wasn’t much that got past the two of them. Koujaku and Mizuki were the forward players, and Aoba and Noiz were midfielders, whatever the hell that meant. 

Koujaku and Mizuki were probably the only ones on their team who’d ever played soccer outside of PE class, but that didn’t mean everyone else was awful. It was obvious Noiz didn’t play soccer much, maybe not since phys ed in junior high. Though he was pretty good. He seemed to know what he was doing at least. He had a slight look of determination in his eyes, which was something Aoba hadn’t seen him express before. It seemed like something about the other team irked the blond, because he was more focused than he normally was. 

Aoba wasn’t great at soccer. He was a bit clumsy with his feet, and he was occupied enough with not getting crushed by someone from the other team. Though somehow he managed. Still, he was nowhere as good as Koujaku or Mizuki.

Sei wasn’t a great goalie, but they weren’t _terrible._ They usually managed to block the balls that got through Virus and Trip, but they weren’t the most athletic person, so there were quite a few that got past them. 

They ended up loosing the game by three points, which wasn’t bad, Aoba thought. The other group however, seemed incredibly pleased with themselves. A few had the gall to throw a few condescending words at Noiz while they were walking to the mess hall for lunch, which was a mistake on their part. 

Noiz stopped walking when they spoke, face hardening slightly. His hands curled into fists, then uncurled in a smooth, steady rhythm. The shortest of the eight looked down his long nose at the blond. “Oh what? Am I making you _angry_ perhaps?” He smirked and stopped to face Noiz. 

“Dude, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The tallest one whispered, a concerned look on his face. 

“And why’s that?”

“He goes to the same school as my girlfriend. Trust me, you do not wanna piss him off.”

“Please, what’s the punk gonna do? Pierce my lip?” The taller boy tensed at this, and walked away quickly.

“I warned you bro!” He shouted over his shoulder, pushing his way into the mess hall. 

Aoba stayed behind while the rest of his cabin went into the mess hall, watching Noiz and the boy with the long nose closely. The tall boy continued to talk, crossing his arms over his chest and condescending like Aoba had never heard before. After a minute or two, Noiz’s hands stopped curling and uncurling, fingers clenched in a tight fist. “You never shut up, do you?” He asked in a voice that was almost haughtier than the long-nosed boy. He drew his fist back and puncher the kid square in the jaw before he had any time to react. Thankfully all of the counselors were inside, or Noiz surely would have gotten into trouble. 

Aoba moved quickly over to the two, grabbing Noiz before buzz cut could retaliate. “Alright, come on, that’s enough.” He muttered, dragging Noiz away before any more damage was done to the situation. 

They joined the others at the table in the corner, and Noiz fell silent again. Rarely adding anything to the conversation. If anyone asked him anything, he answered with as few words as possible, then continued eating.

About ten minutes into lunch Sei stood up walked over to the bathrooms. The bathrooms at Midorijima were divided by sex, and Sei cringed inwardly as they walked into the boy’s restroom. 

A tall boy with dark hair and a predatory look in his eyes walked in while Sei was washing their hands, stopping when he saw them. “Hey sugar, what’re ya doin’ in here? The girl’s room is next door.” His voice was deep and syrupy, coated in sugar and dripping with poisonous intent. 

“I’m not a girl.” Sei answered coolly, trying to keep their discomfort and fear from their face. The boy’s face hardened and his voice turned almost dangerous.

“’Course ya are. What kinda guy wears makeup and girl’s clothes?” Sei sighed slightly to themself and tried to keep calm.

“I’m not a boy either.” The boy cocked his head at this, a questioning look on his face. 

“Well you gotta be one a’ them! Yer a boy or a girl, which is it?” His voice was rising a bit, and it was beginning to sound malicious. 

“I’m neither.” The boy stepped forward, hands clenching into fists. 

“Did ya hear me faggot? Yer a boy or a girl, whatever ya got between yer legs, that’s what ya are! Nothin’ complicated about it. An’ guys don’t wear makeup or girly shit, like you, so yer a girl. Simple as that!” 

“My gender is not determined by my sex, and there are more than two genders. You’re right I’m not a boy, but I’m not a girl either. And boys can and do wear makeup and women’s clothes if they wish.” Sei explained, fear edging its way into their eyes. They boy stepped forward and grabbed the front of their shirt. He lifted them up roughly to meet his eyes, glaring harshly. 

“Cut the crap bitch! Where th’ hell are ya comin’ up with this bullshit? It’s like I told ya, boy, girl, penis, vagina. Now I’m gonna ask again, what’re ya doin’ in here where ya don’t belong?” Thankfully Mizuki walked in walked in while the boy was talking. 

“Oi, asshole, put them down!” He growled. It was unusual for Mizuki to display this kind of blatantly hostile anger. He was a generally laid back, easygoing person. Though he did tend to get pissed when he saw people being harassed, or treated like objects. 

The brunet boy turned his head to face Mizuki, who was a good four inches shorter than he. “And what are ya gonna do if I don’t?” Mizuki cracked his knuckles and stepped closer.

“You have ten seconds to put Sei down, and you do _not_ want to deal with me if you don’t.” The boy smirked and jerked Sei closer to him. 

“She just got lost, an’ I was escortin’ her to where she needs to be.” Mizuki growled, taking another step. 

“You think you’re being funny, don’t you? Well I’d quit while you’ve still got a chance because it’s been a long time since I got pissed enough to hurt someone and you don’t wanna be the one to push me over the edge. So I’ll tell you one more time, put. Sei. _Down_.” Mizuki’s hands were clenched in tight fist, ready to start tossing blows if the boy didn’t cooperate. 

“Tch. Have the freak if you want her so badly, faggot.” The taller boy muttered something under his breath, then threw Sei down at Mizuki. Mizuki managed to catch them before they fell to the ground, but he tensed up when he saw the fear and relief in Sei’s eyes. 

He told Sei to go back to the table, finish their lunch, and let him take care of the boy. Sei nodded quickly and exited the bathroom. Mizuki turned to the dark haired boy. “What the hell were you doing to them?” He demanded.

“I don’t know what you mean kid.” 

“I haven’t seen that much fear in someone’s eyes in a long time. Now, what did you do to them? What did you do to make them that afraid?”

“I didn’t do nothin’! Chick was spewin’ crap; I ‘s just settin’ ‘er straight. Why—” He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Mizuki sent a powerful roundhouse kick to his head. “Why you—” He drove his fist forward in an attempt to hit Mizuki, but was sent crashing to the ground by a blow to the gut. 

“You made me angry, and that is something you never wanna do.” The taller boy struggled to his feet and landed a punch to Mizuki’s eye before he got a foot smashed into the side of his head. The fight went on for a few minutes more before a counselor found them. When they opened the door they found Mizuki in a tight headlock. Mizuki bit the kid’s hand harshly, the head-butted him in the chest. 

When Sei returned to the table, they didn’t tell anyone what happened, or that Mizuki was still in the bathroom, probably fighting the boy who’d harassed them. So everyone was quite surprised when they saw Mizuki and a tall dark haired boy dragged out of the bathroom by a counselor, and shoved off to the program center for a talk with Mink. “Do you know what happened?” Aoba asked Sei, who’d left the bathroom only a few minutes before. Then Sei did relay the story, and Aoba stood up in anger, looking like he might go after them to fight the boy himself. 

“No, it’s fine. Mizuki saved me; I’m sorry he got in trouble over me though.” Lunch was rather quiet after that. 

Mizuki didn’t return during free period, and it was too hot to do much of anything. So they spent their free period in their cabin reading, drawing, talking, and finding ways to pass the time. Aoba decided it would be a good time for a nap, so nap he did. Virus and Trip sat on Trip’s bed talking quietly about something no one paid attention to. Sei and Clear discussed books and different stories from their childhoods. Noiz sat up in his bunk staring blankly at the ceiling and drumming his fingers on the railing. He always seemed to be so lost in his own head; it was hard to tell if he was even thinking at all. He appeared to just wander through his mind, never stopping to settle in one place for longer than a few seconds. 

When free period was over, it was time to go down to the lake. Everyone changed into their swimsuits easily; Sei changed in the cabin this time, and took a bit of time to remove their makeup. When everyone was ready, they all joined the massive sea of teens heading towards the lake.

The lake was massive. Aoba didn’t know how they managed to hide something this big in the woods. There was a trampoline and a giant slide with an island area beneath it floating in the water, which appeared to be very deep. Aoba hadn’t seen too many lakes, but he got the feeling this one was deeper than most camp lakes at least. There was a sizable area of shallow water. It came about half way up Aoba’s shins, and it wasn’t quite as cold as the rest of the water. 

When they arrived at the lake Virus and Trip seemed to disappear. Koujaku was going to get in the water, but was suddenly stopped by a crowd of girls, all fawning over how handsome he was, and how strong he must be, and other things like that. He smiled and showed off to the best of his ability; it was evident that he was happy to have so much attention directed at him, if not a little overwhelmed. It was nothing he couldn’t handle though; after all it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

Clear brought Sei over to the shallow water to watch the tadpoles and small fish, relaying small tidbits of random information as the animals swam around them. They both looked very content to sit and watch.

Noiz immediately jumped into the water and swam over to a far bank, away from everyone. When he reached the opposite bank he crawled up onto the shore and sat on a stray log. He seemed to be more energetic than normal, because he only stayed there about ten minutes before he slipped back into the water and disappeared somewhere unseen. 

Aoba wasn’t a great swimmer, and the water was deeper than he felt comfortable with, so he opted to stay on the beach, walking around absently. The atmosphere was nice. The sounds around him made him feel at peace, everything was okay. 

After he’d been walking around for a while, he walked back over the edge of the water. Outside of the shallow water area at the far end of the bank, the ground just dropped off into dark, immeasurably deep water. 

Suddenly, he felt an oddly warm presence on his back, and then he was falling. Before he had any time to react he was enveloped in a cold thickness, still falling, though slower now, and he couldn’t breath. He was…in the water. He was in the water. He was _in the water_ , and he couldn’t swim, not very well at least. He struggled wilding, flailing his limbs blindly for a few seconds before trying to lift himself up through the thick, murky water. 

He kicked harshly, trying to remember everything he’d ever been told about swimming. However it is harder than it seems to think while you are in a life-threatening situation such as this. He couldn’t swim. He couldn’t breath. He was going to drown. He was drowning. Panicked thoughts filled his head as he continued his fruitless movements. The more he tried to lift himself up, the further he sank. 

The water was cold, very cold. It felt like his body was covered in ice. He’d started holding his breath when he realized he was in the water, but now he felt as though his lungs were paper-thin and ripping themselves to shreds. He needed air. He opened his mouth and gasped desperately for air, only to have it fill with icy lake water. He tried to force it out of his mouth, feebly swallowing what he couldn’t expel. 

His movements grew weaker with each passing second; his limbs were becoming heavier, but at the same time, light, and frail. Soon he couldn’t move at all. He’d hardly any oxygen left, and his vision was beginning to blur. _I’m going to die._ He thought as his mind went blank. 

 

When he opened his eyes, he was lying on his back, looking up into the sky. The sun was bright, too bright; he though as he rolled onto his side and squeezed his eyes shut. He immediately began to cough up water, gasping in violent attempts to fill his lungs with air again. After a few minutes he stopped, trying to sit up. He managed to struggle up enough that he was leaning on his hands, legs still spread before him. 

“Are you alright?” Aoba heard from behind him. He jumped at the unexpected voice, turning to see Noiz sitting absently on a log a few feet away. 

“Yeah, I think so.” He managed with a few more coughs. Noiz sighed lightly though his nostrils. He usually wasn’t very conscious of danger, but even he knew what drowning looked like. He’d of course seen Aoba get shoved into the water, and he’d realized soon enough that Aoba couldn’t swim. It had taken him longer than he would have preferred to get him to the surface, but he’d managed it before he was completely gone, if that was anything. “Why did you—” Aoba started to ask, but Noiz was already focused on something else. When he looked back he saw the blond staring intently up into the sky. _Why is he always looking up like that?_ Aoba wondered silently, watching as Noiz’s fingers drummed out a simple rhythm on his thigh. 

“What do you think happens when we die?” Noiz asked abruptly, eyes still focused on the sky. Aoba was startled by the question; that was surprisingly deep for the blond. What little he did say was usually stiff and topical, but this was different. This was more personal somehow. It felt more important. 

“Uh, well I guess it’s like they tell us when we’re kids. We’re judged on our worldly actions and—”

“No,” Noiz cut him off quietly, “what do _you_ think happens when we die?” Aoba was even more startled by this question. He’d never really thought about that before. He’d always just accepted what he was told (and what he listened to) at church as truth, but he’d never stopped to think about it for himself.

“I don’t know really,” he started slowly, “but I’d like to think there is some sort of afterlife. Maybe not an extravagant paradise like the bible describes, just somewhere we can be reunited with the people we’ve lost, and watch over the people we’ve left behind.” He finished, looking curiously at Noiz. The blond stayed still, his fingers slowing to a halt as his features twitched into the faintest of smirks.

“That sounds nice.” He muttered almost inaudibly. Aoba stared a bit longer before rising shakily to his feet. 

He was about to say something else, but he was silenced by stinging bile rising up in his throat, followed by a hot almost liquid. He doubled over as he vomited, eyes squeezed shut in pain and disgust. He didn’t have to look to know he’d thrown up stomach acid; he’d not had much food that day. He hadn’t eaten anything at lunch, and he’d barely had a slice of toast at breakfast. He’d felt oddly disgusted by the mere concept of eating the entire day, but now it seemed quite appealing. He coughed a few times afterwards, wiping his mouth with his hand. He made a sour face at the taste that lingered in his mouth, but he didn’t say anything. 

Noiz hadn’t shifted his gaze when Aoba stood up, nor when he’d started vomiting, but he did now. He didn’t move his head, but his eyes slid down to look at the shorter boy. He watched silently as Aoba waved his hand weakly and began the long trek back to the other side of the lake. Noiz stayed seated on the log with his eyes on the sky for a good deal longer, rising stiffly when someone shouted that it was time to go back to the villages.

He dove into the freezing water, gliding easily through the water. It didn’t take him long to reach the other bank. He pulled himself wordlessly from the water and joined Clear in walking back. Well, it was more like Clear joined him, but he didn’t mind. He listened absently to the white haired boy talk excitedly about small fish and tadpoles and algae. His eyes stayed focused on the sky the whole walk back.

When they returned to the villages, it was shower hour. Anyone who’d gotten in the lake was required to take a shower, and anyone else who wanted to was free to take one as well. 

Aoba grumbled quietly to himself while he undressed to go to the bathhouse. He’d been planning on taking a shower anyway, but he was a bit upset about now being required to take one. He and Sei finished getting their things together at the same time, so they walked down together, chatting idly on the way. 

Aoba cringed when he entered the bathhouse. It smelled as rancid as it had that morning, and there were still as many, if not more, spiders crawling around the walls and floor. He was a bit more conscious of his feet (clad lazily in flip-flops because he hadn’t thought to bring shower shoes, not that he had any anyway) as he walked along the line to find an empty stall. There was one in the middle, and Aoba let Sei take that one. He continued to walk and eventually found one at the very end. 

The shower stall was tiny, and the water was even colder than the lake, if that was even possible. Aoba showered as quickly as he could, trying to avoid the stream of water as much as he could, which wasn’t too difficult given the water pressure was that of someone weeping softly on you. He washed his hair out carefully, it was a pain to brush, and tangling it up in the shower didn’t help any. When he finished he used a towel to gently squeeze excess water out of his hair and then tied it around his waist, existing the stall. 

Sei was still in the shower, so he continued out into the main area of the bathhouse to brush his hair while it was still damp. (It was more difficult to brush knots out when it was dry.) He exited the bathhouse at the same time as Noiz, and nodded in recognition as the blond passed him.

Aoba noticed absently that the towel around Noiz’s waist was tied almost uncomfortably loose, so that it hung low beneath his hipbones. He also noticed that Noiz had more piercings on the nape of his neck. 

Aoba was almost surprised when the towel began to slip farther down, but he was surprised that Noiz didn’t do anything about it. He only continued walking. A few meters from the cabin the towel loosened enough that it fell to the ground. Noiz shrugged and picked it up, brushing it off and laying it over his shoulder before continuing into the cabin. Aoba heard Koujaku yell something at the blond a few seconds later, and he could almost hear the disinterested shrug that surely followed. 

He entered the cabin less than a minute later, seeing Koujaku lecturing Noiz while he dried his hair. Virus sat up in his bunk reading a book and ignoring the two below, and Trip appeared to be asleep. Clear was sitting on his bed, already dressed with hair dried and that strange mask on, drawing something in a sketch book that looked almost as old as the journal he’d had the day before. Aoba crossed to the back of the cabin and got dressed, tuning the others out. 

When he finished he ran a hand through his hair, frowning as he tried to comb through the mess with his fingers. He may have brushed it in the bathhouse, but that didn’t mean he did a particularly good job. Apparently Koujaku saw him struggling with his hair, because he offered to help. Aoba was a bit hesitant to let him touch his hair, it usually hurt more when other people dealt with it, but after a few moments he agreed, how much harm could it do?

Koujaku sat him down on his bunk before gabbing a small bag from his things and sitting behind him. Aoba was surprised when he didn’t immediately feel the ripping pain of a hairbrush, but instead head the sound of a bottle spraying something. He wanted to say something, but he figured Koujaku must know what he was doing, and kept his mouth shut. 

Koujaku sprayed Aoba’s hair with some detangler, and ran a bit of leave in conditioner through it before he started brushing it. Even then it was incredibly difficult to brush. Aoba winced and drew in a few sharp breaths as the brush moved through his hair. “You okay?” Koujaku asked, and Aoba nodded, signaling for him to continue. Within about ten minutes Koujaku managed to brush through all of Aoba’s hair until it was smooth and tangle free. “Do you want me to do something with it or do you just want me to leave it as is?” Aoba shrugged. 

“Do whatever I guess.” Koujaku gave a small half smile at this and ran the comb (Which he’d switched to after the brush was finished) through the soft blue hair one more time before dividing it into three equal sections. He braided it and secured it with a clear hair tie before spraying it with a bit of loose-hold hair spray. 

“There, done.” He announced, handing Aoba a small mirror to look at himself. Aoba smiled lightly and reached up to pull the braid forward so it rested on his shoulder. 

“Thanks, it looks nice.” He replied. He’d never tried braiding his hair before; he had enough trouble brushing it. He’d never even considered doing anything further with it. But it did look very nice, and it would likely be easier to manage as well, so he thanked Koujaku. “Where’d you learn to do all that stuff to it anyway?” He asked after a few minutes. 

“I take cosmetology at school. Not that anything I did was really challenging, just a bit of product and some practice.” Koujaku answered as he put the bag back with his things. 

When there were only about fifteen minutes of shower hour left, it started to rain, hard. Aoba groaned as the water came down on them from the gaps in the ceiling and the walls. Mizuki had come back while Koujaku was brushing Aoba’s hair, and Sei came back just before the rain got bad. 

The rain pelted them through the gaps in the ceiling and walls, and seeped through the walls. Aoba sighed in irritation as the water fell down on him. His hair still wasn’t completely dry from his shower earlier, and the rain certainly wasn’t helping. It was also cold, which was not what he needed right now. He almost started yelling when he heard a loud crack of thunder ring out through the camp. Wasn’t this just brilliant?

He could hear the quiet sounds of aggravation coming from the others, and it almost felt strange when he heard someone voice their irritation instead of just sighing or groaning or growling like before. “You know what we’d probably be dryer under the freaking pavilion.” Mizuki mused, annoyance apparent in his voice. It might have been partially a joke, but everyone seemed to agree with him, so they all got out of their respective bunks and filed out into the rain. 

The pavilion wasn’t too far, and at this point no one cared about the rain pelting them from above, they’d be dry-ish soon enough. When they reached the pavilion they all sat down at one of the picnic tables, sitting in almost uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. “So what now?” Sei said finally.

“Well we don’t really know each other, we did only meet yester day after all, and we’re going to be stuck around each other a lot in the next two months, so we might as well get know each other. I guess.” Koujaku suggested. That made sense, and again no one had any objections, so they decided why not?

The only real problem with this idea was, of course, no one wanted to start. “How about we start nice and simple. Why’s everyone here?” Mizuki proposed.

“I think a better question would be does anyone actually want to be here?” Aoba said, still a bit irritated. 

“Well what about this, what _does_ everyone believe?” This time it was Koujaku who spoke. This seemed reasonable; after all it was unlikely they all believed everything the Christian church taught. (It was also likely none of them believed all of it.) Koujaku looked at Mizuki, who was seated to his right, indicating that he should start. Mizuki shrugged.  
“I personally think that one day after we die we’re going to wake up again as someone else, someone new.” 

“So like reincarnation?” Aoba was a bit surprised to hear Noiz ask that, but he was a bit more surprised to see Mizuki shrug again.

“Kind of.”

“What do you mean ‘kind of’?” Sei asked. Mizuki blew some air up into his bangs, a look of deep thought on his face as he tried to figure out the best way to word it.”

“Well to me reincarnation means we’re born into a new body still having the same personality and interests and ideas, just without memories of our past lives, and we grow and develop in our new lives. But that’s not what I’m talking about. What I believe, it’s like this. We die, and then we’re born into a new body. But it’s not really us anymore. We don’t have any memories from out past lives, our ideas and interests and personalities have been stripped away. We’re blank slates at birth, but in a way it’s still us, because it’s the same soul living all these different lives as all these different people. So yeah, it’s kind of like reincarnation.” Mizuki explained finally. Aoba had never heard someone say anything like that before, but it made an odd amount of sense when he thought about it. Mizuki looked over at Sei, sitting on the other side of the table on the far right. “What about you?”

“I don’t really believe in anything I guess. I don’t like maybes in things as big as this, and I don’t really have the courage to have concrete beliefs in anything regarding faith. All I know is that one day everything is going to end.” Sei looked at Aoba, seated on their left, and he sighed.

“I don’t know I mean I guess I believe some sort of god, or something. I think the church overdoes everything though. I’d like to believe there is some sort of afterlife, but it’s probably nothing fancy, meet up with the people you’ve lost, watch over the people you’ve left behind, that kind of thing. I don’t really think about it much; it’s kind of unsettling to dwell on death too much.” He explained for the second time that day. He nodded at Koujaku, and the ravenet smiled softly.

“I guess I’ll find out someday.” Was all he said before he looked over at Virus.

“I suppose you could say I believe in the dark.” The blond said cryptically. Koujaku sent him a puzzled look, but before he could say anything, Trip spoke up.

“It’s nothing interesting really.” He obviously wanted to move on to someone else, so he looked over at Clear, sitting opposite Sei. 

Clear tilted his head backwards a bit, seemingly focused on the rain when he answered. “We can find peace and happiness in nature and the world around us. Everything else is an overlay stemming from something irrelevant to the harmony of basic human life.” His voice was calm and peaceful; he spoke in such a way that Aoba thought he might have come to believe this through personal experience. Clear turned to Noiz, on his left, who was the only one left to speak.

Noiz mumbled something in a different language, Aoba thought it sounded a bit like German, and tilted his head back to stare at the roof. “Whatever happens, it had better be good.” He said it so quietly that the rest of them barely heard it, and no one seemed to know what to say to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. I could sit here all night and make excuses (well, morning, it's like 1:30 am)but the fact still remains that this took way to long to put out, so I wont. I think I may have made the characters a bit too OOC (especially Mizuki, you know the part), but I guess that's just how they speak to me. (I get a lot of very strong yet vague feelings about how they'd react to certain situations and it just feels right so I go with it). Anyway, I'm not going to promise the next chapter will be up soon, because we have finals coming up at our school, but I'll try. Again, so sorry this took so long, I hope the length makes up for it.


End file.
